The Great Harlan Ellison goes after AOL!

[Wickedkitten Veteran]

Finally for a change someone is suing AOL. I know some of you are probably thinking "who the hell is harlan ellison?" Only one of the greatest horror story writers living, author of such classics as I have no mouth and I must scream. Heres the story as per from USAToday.com

Ellison authors a new victory against Net's pirates

Harlan Ellison can claim another victory in his ongoing battle against Internet pirates. But the war is far from over for the author of 75 books and hundreds of short stories, including the classic I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream and Star Trek episodes.

Ellison, 67, filed suit in April 2000 in a Los Angeles federal court against individuals and companies, including America Online, that he says either distributed or provided the medium to distribute pirated copies of his work online.

In June, Ellison settled with a Red Bluff, Calif., resident who acknowledged he scanned in six stories and put them on the Net.

Now Ellison is announcing a settlement with Critical Path, a company that hosted the newsgroup where stories were posted. It did not acknowledge liability but will develop software that allows Ellison to delete unauthorized postings of his works. Monetary damages were not announced.

Ellison calls it a victory for all writers who want to protect their works online. And he vows to put everything he has into beating AOL. But it may be tough.

He says AOL should not have allowed its users to access the newsgroup, a known pirating spot. But AOL calls the suit "baseless." Under copyright law, Internet providers are not liable for illegal material posted on their services, although they must remove it when informed it's there, says cyberlaw expert Mark Lemley. AOL cut off access after the suit was filed.

Ellison says he has spent $250,000 on this. "This is writers saying you can't steal our work anymore. All I could hope is that before my money runs out, we will take them down."

[Wickedkitten Veteran]

can a mod please delete one of these, im sorry but my finger stuttered on the submit button

[StimpyX]

1. Harlan Ellison is not "one of the greatest horror story writers living" (though he'd never correct you on it), but he is one the better science fiction writers and essayists around (and yes, he's still living). He's also a major egoist, but that's beside the point.

2. Harlan Ellison suing AOL et al is not much of a story. That he's taken so long before getting the news outlets to report on it again probably is.

3. Harlan Ellison getting anything for such a ludicrous lawsuit is maddening. I mean really. Treating networks and ISPs like they are publishers of what's found in newsgroups? Ugh. He (rightly) went after the jackass who posted them. Case (should be) closed.

4. Harlan Ellison complaining about money (under any conditions) is perennial...